International Organizations

The United States belongs to dozens of multilateral organizations, from large and well-known organizations such as NATO, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the United Nations to relatively small niche organizations such as the Universal Postal Union and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. The FY 2011 request for “Contributions to International Organizations” under the U.S. Department of State budget included line items for U.S. contributions to some fifty distinct international organizations and budgets. The decisions and policies of these organizations directly and indirectly impact U.S. foreign policy, security and commercial interests. The U.S. should use its influence in these organizations to ensure that American interests are protected.

Our Research & Offerings on International Organizations

Nuclear weapons continue to be essential for U.S. national security and will continue to play an irreplaceable role in deterring a large-scale attack against the U.S. homeland. Nuclear weapons in the hands of U.S. adversaries and potential adversaries are the only weapons that pose an existential threat to the nation. The Trump Administration will have a unique…

The latest rankings of trade freedom around the world, developed by The Heritage Foundation in the forthcoming 2017 Index of Economic Freedom,[1] once again demonstrate that citizens of countries that embrace trade freedom are better off than those in countries that do not. The data continue to show a strong correlation between trade freedom and a variety of positive…

When President-elect Donald Trump enters office in January 2017 he will inherit a transatlantic security environment with major challenges. Russia has used military force to change borders in Europe—something that has not happened since World War II. Since 2008, it has invaded two of its neighbors and it occupies thousands of square miles of territory in Ukraine and…

The White House has announced a short-notice trip to Europe for November 15 to 18. President Barack Obama will start the trip in Greece, where he will meet with President Prokopios Pavlopoulo and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras before traveling on to Germany.
Greece, a NATO member since 1952, hosts an important U.S. naval base at Souda Bay on the island of Crete. In the…

As a candidate, Barack Obama called ballistic missile defense programs “unproven” and vowed to cut them.[1] As President, Barack Obama eventually had to appreciate the value that missile defense brings to the U.S. strategic posture and allied relationships. The Obama Administration initially cancelled some of the most important missile defense programs that were started…

The upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw is an opportunity for the alliance to provide realistic and meaningful support to Ukraine. It has been over 28 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. Since that time, Russia has annexed Crimea, consolidated its position in the Black Sea, and created a frozen conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s invasion has cost 10,000 lives and…

With a focus on Russia’s actions in the Baltic region and Eastern Europe, the July NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, offers an opportunity for NATO to re-focus on another area of recent Russian saber rattling, along Turkey’s borders. NATO needs to agree to a strategy that ensures that its southeastern flank remains secure and recognizes the vital role that Turkey plays for…

The July NATO summit in Warsaw offers an opportunity to focus on one of the most complex regions the alliance is obligated to defend: the Baltic States. NATO should think strategically and take long-term measures that include the eventual permanent basing of troops in the region, the establishment of a Baltic Air Defense mission, and a commitment to regular training…

The United States is a global power with global interests. These interests include ensuring that the sea lanes of the North Atlantic remain open to the flow of commerce and information, and that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) remains a bulwark that ensures peace and security for its member states. Iceland, one of the 12 original NATO members, has been an…

NATO has underpinned Europe and North America’s security for more than 67 years, so it is no surprise that many countries in the transatlantic region that are not already members want to join the alliance. NATO’s “open door” policy is critical to mobilizing Europe and its allies around a collective transatlantic defense. The U.S. should use the 2016 Warsaw summit in early…

The U.S. government has substantial efforts under way in West Africa to provide humanitarian assistance to combat the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease and thereby also help prevent the spread of Ebola elsewhere. U.S. government civilians under the direction of the U.S. ambassador, and U.S. military personnel under the Commander of the Joint Force Command (JFC), work…

(Archived document, may contain errors)
298 October 19, 1983 TU US. AND UNESCO AT.A CROSSROADS Owen
Harries INTRODUCTION The United States is conducting.what is
officially described as a itfundamental reappraisali1 of its policy
toward one part of the U.N. system, UNESCO (the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organ ization It is…

(Archived document, may contain errors) No. 968 INTRODUCTION The United States has long been a great humanitarian nation. Throughout its history it has come to the aid of, distressed people worldwide. Increasingly, these humanitarian efforts have involved the U.S military, as when American servicemen helped cyclone victims in Bangladesh in 1991. Yet the most recent use of…

In a recent
interview, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton
described the UN as hopelessly out of touch and stuck in a Twilight
Zone-style "time warp" where "there are practices, attitudes and
approaches that were abandoned 30 years ago in much of the rest of
the world."[1]
Bolton's cutting analysis perfectly captures the latest controversy
to hit…

There is mounting evidence that the United
Nations Oil-for-Food program, originally conceived as a means of
providing humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people, was subverted by
Saddam Hussein's regime and manipulated to help prop up the Iraqi
dictator. Saddam's dictatorship was able to siphon off an estimated
$10 billion from the Oil-for-Food program through oil…

The World Trade Organization recently ruled that a tax provision designed to aid U.S. exporters is a subsidy. This means the European Union, which brought the case against the United States, can impose up to $4 billion in compensatory import taxes on American exports. For better or worse, the WTO probably made the right decision. America imposes tax on the worldwide…

The world is in a "race against time" to prevent a sharp rise in
the number of deaths resulting from the devastating Dec. 26 tsunami
in the Indian Ocean, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan
said at a Jan. 6 summit of world leaders in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Yes, Jan. 6 -- 11 days after the tsunami first hit and after an
estimated 150,000 people had died.
It…

As Bush Administration officials at the U.S.
Department of State begin to familiarize themselves with the
activities of the United Nations and its many affiliated agencies,
they will be inundated with reports about mission creep,
overstretched resources and waste, unfair dues assessments, and
other problems repeatedly targeted for reform by Congress. One
area,…

(Archived document, may contain errors)
April 20, 1983 U.N. PEACEKEEPING AN EMPTY MANDATE INTRODUCTION
Born in 1945 from the devastation of a world war that produced
almost 49,000,000 military and civilian deaths, the United Nations
was to many a new hope for a more peacegul world. The U.N.
Charter, ratified by the U.S. Senate in July 1945,…

(Archived document, may contain errors)
7/3/85 84 LAST-CHANCE FOR THE NAI ROB I WOMEN'S CONFERENCE
Less than two weeks from now, on July 15 in Nairobi, Kenya, the
U.N. Decade for Women is to be capped by a twelve-day international
confe rence. Its avowed purposes are to sum up ten years of
activities in focusing worldwide attention on the role and…

The U.S. government has substantial efforts under way in West Africa to provide humanitarian assistance to combat the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease and thereby also help prevent the spread of Ebola elsewhere. U.S. government civilians under the direction of the U.S. ambassador, and U.S. military personnel under the Commander of the Joint Force Command (JFC), work…

The International Monetary Fund’s report on its 2014 Article IV Consultation with the United States risks encouraging inaction by U.S. lawmakers on adopting structural entitlement reforms to control U.S. spending and debt growth. The IMF report suggests institutional budget reforms to “lessen fiscal policy uncertainty,” citing “recent experience of debt ceiling…

President Mahmoud Abbas announced on April 1 that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will seek to join 15 international conventions and treaties. This is a new facet of the existing Palestinian policy of seeking international recognition by other governments and membership in international organizations to bolster claims of statehood absent a negotiated peace treaty with…

Earlier this month, Secretary of State John Kerry urged Congress not to respond to the Venezuelan government’s deadly crackdown against the democratic opposition. Recent high-level talks between the Venezuelan government and select members of the opposition have led the Secretary to mistakenly believe that the crisis will soon end. Additionally, he urged Congress to avoid…

President Barack Obama released his fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget proposal on March 4, 2014. Although much of the budget reflects long-standing programmatic and budgetary practice, there are 11 specific issues that Congress should address.
The President’s FY 2015 budget request for International Affairs (IA) totals $50.01 billion, including a base budget of $44.1 billion…

United Nations system revenues nearly tripled between 2002 and 2012 from nearly $15 billion to $41.5 billion. Cumulatively, the U.N. received more than $312 billion over that period. The U.S. has been and remains the U.N. system’s largest contributor, providing approximately one-fifth of total contributions on average annually over that period. Incomplete data make a…

The United Nations’ regular budget has grown reliably over the past six decades, with particularly sharp growth over the past decade. Last year seemed promising, as the initial U.N. regular budget for 2012–2013 was lower than the final expenditures for the previous biennial budget. However, that reduction was largely achieved through the negotiating gimmick of deferring…

Last fall, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) granted membership to the Palestinian Authority. It did so despite clear warnings from Washington that this would necessitate an immediate freeze on all U.S. funding to the agency. Subsequently, President Obama stopped all U.S. financial contributions to the organization as required…

Abstract: For years, the United Nations has retained surplus appropriations for closed peacekeeping operations and credits owed to the U.S. from the Tax Equalization Fund. U.N. financial rules and regulations state that the U.N. should “surrender” these funds (reimburse or credit them toward related assessments) after a specified period. Instead, the U.N. has retained…

For the African Union (AU) Commission, the election earlier this month of South Africa’s Home Affairs minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, as chair offers a chance to address issues that have hindered the organization’s image and its impact on the continent.
The new leader should provide leadership in pressing the organization to respond more effectively to the…

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